Orthodontic appliance



` Dec. 22, 1942. s. R. A'rKfNsoN 2,305,916

" oRTHoDoNTIc APPLIANCE Filed May 27, 1941 Patented Dec. 22, 1942 UNITED STATES rATsNTor-rlcs oR'rHoDoNTIc APPLIANCE Spencer R. Atkinson, Pasadena, Calif.,assignor to California Institute Research Foundation, Pasadena, Calif., a corporation of California Application-'May 27, 1941, Serial No. 395,361

2 Claims. (Cl. 32-14) This invention relates to improvements in orthodontic appliances and particularly to the construction of means to be attached to the teeth temporarily, cooperating with an orthodontic wire or wires.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide improved means for subjecting a tooth or teeth to corrective forces tending to correct defects of faulty alignment of a tooth or orientation of the tooths axis; also to improve the means carried by the tooth which is to be corrected, for receiving and imparting the corrective force to the tooth, and the means for anchoring the orthodontic wire; also to correct faulty spacing.

Further objects of the invention will appeary hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combination of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an efcient orthodontic appliance.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specication, while the scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation illustrating my improvements and showing an assembly operating to correct faulty alignment. This view also illustrates the anchor means of my invention for holding the end of the orthodontic wire.

Figure 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1, illustrating the assembly for correcting faulty orientation of two adjacent teeth.

Figure 3 is a View similar to Figs. 1 and 2 but showing the assembly for imparting lateral forces to teeth for correcting faulty spacing of the teeth.

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken about on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 to further illustrate the arrangement shown in Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic View similar to Fig. 3 but illustrating the use of ligatures instead of springs for exerting the correcting lateral force upon the teeth.

Figure 6 is a horizontal cross-section through a tooth carrying a tooth-band provided with my improved bracket.

Figure 7 is a perspective upon a magnied scale of my improved bracket.

Figure 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 but showing a slight modification of the bracket.

Figure 9 is a perspective also upon a magnified scale and illustrating my improved anchor with orthodontic wires about to be anchored therein.

Fig. 7 illustrates a bracket I which I employ in my orthodonti-c assemblies. This bracket is .preferably formed of a plate :having a body 2 which projects out fromthe tooth, the sides of the body having integral flanges 3, the inner faces of which form seat faces or substantially flat feet to be welded or otherwise secured to atooth band 4. The body is formed with a slot II) through which the orthodontic wire 6 may pass (see Fig. 6). Y j

On the outer lateral edges of thefbracket I,'I prefer to form means for engaging the orthodonticwire 6. This means is preferably in the form of alug 'I which in the present instance is formed integrally with the body of. the bracket. These lugs project outwardly from the plane of thefeet, and I prefer to form these lugs at the point indicated because they are then spaced a very considerable distance apart and this increases the leverage or purchase of forces which may be applied to the lug 'I to impart the correctiveforce or forces to the tooth. The lower edge 8 of each of these lugs is substantially in the same plane as the upper edge 9 of a slot I0 which is formed across the body 2 and which extends inwardly, to the plane, of the feet 3.

In Fig. 8 I illustrate a bracket I I which is constructed substantially the same as the bracket illustrated in Fig. "I, but in this modification the lugs I2 are made quite wide and each lug is provided with a notch I3 into which the orthodontic wire indicated by the dotted line I4 is received.

The advantage of this modication is that the orthodontic wire can exert a downward or upward force on each lug, as may be desired. K The lower end of the body 2 is cut away adjacent the feet 3 so as to form a notch I5 to receive aat orthodontic wire, and a similar notch I5-a is employed in the embodiment of the bracket illustrated in Fig. 8.

In Fig. l, I illustrate an assembly inwhich my improvements are employed to correct faulty alignment of teeth. In this View I6 indicates a tooth which is located in a retracted position and which should be corrected by developing a downward shift of the tooth bodily to bring it into line with the adjacent teeth I'I. Under these circurnstances I provide the two adjacent teeth I1 with tooth bands 4 to which the brackets I are rigidly secured. In this View I8 indicates the round orthodontic wire which extends through the notches I0 in the bodies of these brackets,engag ing the lower edges of the lugs 1. The end of the wire is anchored on an adjacent tooth such as the tooth I9 by means of an anchor bracket 20, the

details of which will be described more fully hereinafter. The orthodontic wire I8 can if desired be secured to the brackets I by means of ligatures 2| secured over the upper edges of the lug 1, and a similar ligature 22 is provided passing up over the lugs 1 of the bracket on the intermediate tooth I6, the said ligature 22 being secured in place by twisting its ends as indicated at 23. When this ligature 22 .is tightened up in this way it will exert a constant downward force on the lug 1, tending to bring the tooth I6 down into line with the outside teeth I1.

In Fig. 2, I illustrate another use Iof my improvements employing the bracket illustrated in Fig 8. This view is employed to illustrate how my improvements may be used to correct the orientation of two teeth 24 and 25. If these teeth 24 and 25 are near enough-in line to an adjacent tooth 26, I may apply an orthodontic wire 21 through the notches I3 of the brackets II in the mannerindicated. The end 28 of this orthoyizlontic wire would be anchored in an anchor device of any suitable construction, such as the 4anchor bracket 20, and the other end of the wire l21 would be anchored in any suitable manner with any usual mean-s known to Orthodontists for maintaining tension in the wire. The effect of this tension is of course to exert a downward pull on'the lugs I2 which are relatively elevated, and an upward pull on any lugs which are located `4below the level of the lugs on the right-hand tooth or stabilizing tooth 26.

This bracket illustrated in Figg? or Fig. 8 is also very useful in an assembly such as illustrated in Fig. 3 in Whichit may be necessary to correct the spacing of threeteeth 29, 30 and 3| but which are in proper alignment with each other. In

vsuch-a case a bracket I may be secured on a tooth band 32 lon each tooth, and on the orthodontic wire 33 springs may be applied between the lugs 'I on the brackets. For example, if vthe teeth 2-9 'and 30 are too close together a coil spring 34 ca-n be applied on the orthodontic wire, thrusting ltoward'the left on'the tooth 29 and toward the `right on the tooth 30.

In other words, the lugs 1 form excellent seats to receive the thrust of the spring. This is illustrated quite clearly in Fig. 4, from an examination of which it will be seenthat if the lugs were not present the coils of the spring could become jammed into the narrowing throat between the adjacent side of the tooth band and the orthodontic wire.

If it is necessary to exert force upon a tooth tending to move it laterally, in a situation where it is not desirable to exert any thrust against the adjacent tooth, this can be accomplished by soldering a laterally projecting pin 35 on the orthodontic wire. This pin 35 will act as a seat for a coil spring 36, th'e other end of which will thrust against the adjacent lug 1 on the tooth 3|.

In exerting lateral thrustsv upon 1 teeth in the manner indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, if desired I vmay employ the bracket illustrated in Fig. 8 -instead of the bracket illustrated in-Fig, 7, in

which case the presence of the notch assists in stabilizing the axial orientation of the tooth. In other words, the edges of the notch engaging with the orthodontic wire vwill tend to Vprevent the tooth from tilting. In this way force would b exerted upon the tooth merely tending to shift it, while the tendency to orient the axis of the tooth is overcome.

In Fig. 5, I illustrate an arrangement somewhat similar to that illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 but in which instead of employing springs for exerting force on the teeth, ligatures 31 may be employed. The lugs 1 are most useful in such a situation because the ligatures can be passed around the outermost lugs on two adjacent teeth 38 and 39 which are to be drawn closer together. If an adjacent tooth 4I) should be shifted toward the left as viewed in Fig. 5, a ligature 4I can be employed, passed around the right-hand lug 42 of the tooth 40 and also passed around a pin 43 soldered on to the orthodontic wire 44.

In all of the above illustrations it should be understood that in practice frequently a flat orthodontic Wire such as the orthodontic wire 46 would also be employed, as indicated in Fig. 3, `and lying in the notches I5 or I5-a1in the bodies of the brackets.

In Fig. 9, I illustratethe anchor bracket `2|) in perspective, and in this view I also illustrate an orthodontic round wire 45 and an .orthodontic ilat wire 45. The anchor bracket 20 is preferably formed of a bent plate presenting twojuxtaposed parts or leaves 41 and 41a, the inner leaf 41 having integral laterally projecting flanges 41h to be welded or otherwise secured to a tooth ring. `One edge of this plate, for example, the upper edge, is bent around to form a sleeve 48 through which the round orthodontic wire 45 may be extended, and the body of the forward leaf 41a of the-plate may be oiset so as to form a rectangular. socket or notch 49 through which the flat orthodontic wire 46 may extend. In forming the anchorage it is merely necessary to form bends, such as the bends 5!) and 5I, at the ends of these wires. The size of the rectangular socket 49 should be sufcient to permit the ends at the bend to be seated in the. end of the socket. These bends will resist any necessary tension exerted upon the wires.

The end of the round wire is anchored simply by bending it laterally as indicated in Fig. 9,- but with the bend up against the end of the socket.

Many other embodiments of the invention may be resortedto without departingfromfthe spirit of the invention.

What I claim is: i

l. An orthodontic bracket to be attached to tooth band, having a body whose longitudinal axis extends substantially parallel with the axis Y of the tooth, said bracket having spaced substan- 

